Neural networks are making great strides in image classification and recognition, but how they work is a bit mysterious. Here, they show what fantastical images a neural network can dream up from random input data. It's otherwordly.

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This creates a feedback loop: if a cloud looks a little bit like a bird, the network will make it look more like a bird. This in turn will make the network recognize the bird even more strongly on the next pass and so forth, until a highly detailed bird appears, seemingly out of nowhere.